San Marcos (LSD 25) - Naval Cruise Book

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Mt. Etna ' ta 'n Cata 'a th ' Dunfig our S Y 1 .nl ' ere fvere two eXCe11ent tours, one to the famous volcano, Mt. Etna and another to a vil- lage lugh on a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean Sea called Taormina Mt Etn b . th the two found the eager tourist boarding a bus not far from the dock where Om: ngaliant Qdiinvias :n:lo0?dP012'11har ton: of 1 ' cline to the to of th h hy - r ' e we up their flnibiut half way to Eur deitixjtnuvolcano was.fa1rly good, but unfortunately the condition of our bus was not. Having S? e i . . -1011, Old falfhflll, the vehicle's tempermental radiator, decided to show that 'she still had quite a bit of spunk with which to blow off steam. She continued to do so after numerous wat U- d fl ' ' er 1 an we re2Ched 2 115061, not far from OUT Obi active. I Here we quenched our thirst and were off to what we thougljii woulldnble h ' f - ' A' T' 'C - the top.Of 17 eagfeaf 111 erno it wasn't lhe top. We had to hike the rest of the way. Well we triedg but with little success. V01C9-DIC 9-Sh 15 not an easl' thmg '30 walk On. We found this our and so did our shoes However it was an interestin tour and most of us enjoyed it completely, after all there was a meal included in the price , g Rome For many of us, a trip to Rome was something dreamed of for many years. Whether from a religious or historical stand- point, Iam sure it fullfilled our fondest expectations. A conducted tour of the city took us first of all to Vatician City, f,'.where we saw St. Peter 's Church. 'Ifhis is definitelyg one of the most outstanding monuments of its kind in the world. Inside were numerous paintings, mosaics, and carvings by history's most outstanding artisis. From St. Peter's Square we rode outside the walls of the city to the Catacombs. This subterranean trip was most interesting inlseeing many ancient tombs. We then went to the Coliseum. This structure in itself was another marvel of the ages -- inany centuries old and yet in excellent condition. just across from the Col- iseum were the ruins of the Roman Forum. With the aid of a good imagination it was simple to reconstruct things as they were in Caesar 's- day.. A While in Rome we were afforded the privilege of an au ience wi p experience for all, especially as he addressed the members of the American Armed Forces in English. 1 ' ' ' A h f C tantine St. Paul's Cathedral In addition we s d' 'th Po e Pius XII. I am sure this was a most moving aw the Tomb- of the Unknown Soldier, the Trajan Forum, rc o ons , plus many more famouss places. . I A , A in a visit to one of our civilization's -oldest and most distinguished cities. So it was with a group of American Sailors 127, ww.-and-unb0Q

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Taorminn, Sicily This small Sicilian village was the site of the first tour by San Marcos personnel in the Mediterranean area. Taoromina is regarded by many world travelers as among the loveliest spots on the earth. It is reached by a narrow, but modern carriage road which winds itls way up the mountainside to the town some 600 feet above the sea. lt's quite a road for Sicilian taxi drivers to introduce themselves on. Their driving is as breath-taking as the scenery. The village itself holds no pretensions to fame other than itsi beautiful picturesqueness. The heart of the town is com- posed of about one street which is close to a mile in length. Hotels and Curio shops border the sides of the road and to the east of town stands a Roman theatre, which was restored upon the remnants of an earlier Greek theatre. However, the real appeal of Taoromina is not in any works by man, but by the sheer beauty of it's unsurpassable scenery. From the V heights of the small town, once quite active, one can see long stretches of the coastline flanked by rugged mountains. At night myriads of lights dot the mountains and sea, all of which is dwarfed in significance by the towering, majestic outlines of Mount Etna. 128